During FFWD: Advertising and Marketing Week 2017 in Toronto, ICA (Institute of Communication Agencies) in partnership with Ipsos unveiled the Top 10 Most Influential Brands in Canada based on a comprehensive study measuring and ranking today’s brands in Canada and the world. The study, now in its 6th year was conducted in 19 countries and evaluates over 100 brands that spend the most on advertising in Canada, and ranks their influence.

“Our study measures and ranks today’s most influential brands, why they are leading, which generations they influence most, how they impact us and what makes them influential,” explained Steve Levy, COO Ipsos.

Interestingly enough the study shows that the Top 10 brands list has been quite stable. The current list has six tech-focused companies that also happen to be the top six. Read more… at Canoe Tech Blog.

The most popular sale item on Paul Brandt’s music tours is a rubber duck

EDMONTON, AB Sep 1, 2015/ Troy Media/ – Merchandise is as much a part of the concert tour experience as the music for many fans. It’s also a much needed revenue generator for many performers.

When I asked platinum-selling country star Paul Brandt what the most popular sale item was on his tours, he hesitated for a moment, then let out a big “Ha,” and laughed. “I don’t know if I should be embarrassed to admit this or not, but I guess the fans have spoken. Bar none, over the last 20 years, it’s been a little rubber duck.”

While my mind turned immediately to my youth and Ernie’s Rubber Duckie from Sesame Street, it turns out Brandt was referring to C.W. McCall’s novelty trucking classic Convoy,from way back in the mid 70’s. I should have guessed immediately, having owned that classic 45-RPM record that encouraged me to get my first CB Radio. Read full article at Troy Media.

The next best thing to being there

EDMONTON, AB Aug 12, 2015/ Troy Media/ – Toastmasters International’s mission is a simple one: to empower individuals to become more effective communicators and leaders. But while this 90 year-old worldwide organization values and encourages face-to-face interaction, it isn’t always possible for its members to attend one of its annual conventions.

To overcome that obstacle, Toastmasters has created a virtual ticket for their 84th annual premiere event, The Toastmasters International Convention, being held from Aug. 12 to 15 at Caesar’s Palace and Casino in Las Vegas. READ FULL ARTICLE at Troy Media and listen to the Podcast at: Toastcaster.

I’m sure many of you by now are familiar with Square. It’s a service that allows businesses or even individuals to accept payment by credit card using a little dongle attached to the headphone jack of their smartphone or tablet. This type of service relies on the ability to securely transmit card information either through an Internet connection or data connection like 3G, 4G or LTE. But what happens when there’s no connection available? Read more…at CanoeTech Blog.

EDMONTON, AB, Sep 22, 2014/ Troy Media/ – After record-breaking pre-orders and massive line-ups world-wide, iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus models – which launched on September 19 – broke first weekend record sales by topping the 10 million mark. This milestone is one million more than the then record-breaking nine million iPhone 5S and 5C handsets sold on their first weekend release set under a year ago.

“Sales for iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus exceeded our expectations for the launch weekend, and we couldn’t be happier,” said Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO. “We would like to thank all of our customers for making this our best launch ever, shattering all previous sell-through records by a large margin. While our team managed the manufacturing ramp better than ever before, we could have sold many more iPhones with greater supply and we are working hard to fill orders as quickly as possible.” READ MORE at Troy Media

EDMONTON, AB, Sep 9, 2014/ Troy Media/ – The closer we move to the introduction of the iPhone 6, and its many expected variations, you are probably asking yourself if it is time to dump your current iPhone.

In fact, there are a growing number of iPhones on offer on the resale market. According to eBay Canada there was a significant jump in the number of listings offering the iPhone 5 leading up to last year’s announcement of the iPhone 5C and iPhone 5S models, compared to the same period a month prior. Read full article at TROY MEDIA

Strolling through Old Strathcona last Saturday during Edmonton’s Whyte Avenue Art Walk 2014 I noticed something different this year. More vendors were accepting payment by credit card – VISA, MasterCard, American Express – many through the magic of this micro-payment system called Square. It’s changed the way small businesses do their transactions. And now here in Canada, they’ve taken it one step farther with the introduction of invoices allowing complete secure payment transactions when not dealing face-to-face.

Invoicing is certainly a logical extension to the Square payment system with many potential benefits. In fact, people like Kat Doell, an emerging artist and illustrator finds Square payments handy, particularly for high ticket items welcome its extended functionality.

“I haven’t used the invoices yet, but all the new options look perfect for small business,” says Doell.

If you’re keen on accepting credit cards for your business, garage sale or what have you and use an iPhone 5 or iPhone 5S, accessory maker Griffin Technology and mobile payment company Square have teamed up to offer a protective case and Square Reader in one nice little low-cost bundle.

Griffin Merchant Case + Square Reader is a case/reader combo specifically designed for merchants on the go. It protects your iPhone from accidental drops, with a slot that allows you to store your Square point-of-sale reader in the back and easily carry it around.

Some things like books, gadgets, and auto parts are great to buy on-line – it’s convenient, quick, and almost always automated. On the other hand, things like clothing, shoes, and other items that require personalized fitting or are very touchy-feely are best bought in person. But the in-store experience often lacks the ease at which an on-line transaction can be completed.

It can be pretty tough to pry any amount of money from the pockets of the five dragons on a good day, let alone walk away with a deal worth a half-million dollars. But that’s what Montreal’s Marty Algire & Corey Velan; co-founders of FixMeStick did on CBC’s Dragons’ Den this past Wednesday.